Now the Terms and Conditions are thefe three: 1. Repentance, exprefs'd here by renouncing our Ghoftly Enemies, the Devil, the World, and the Flesh. 2. Faith, exprefs'd here by believing all the Articles of the Chriftian Faith. 3. Obedience, exprefs'd here by keeping God's Holy Will and Commandments, and walking in the fame all the Days of our Life. These things contain the whole of a Chriftian's Duty, and are fufficient to entitle us to all the Merits of Chrift's Death and Satisfaction, and therefore must be particularly explain'd. The firft Condition then to be perform'd on our part of this Baptifmal Covenant, is Repentance, exprefs'd here by renouncing our three deadly and fpiritual Enemies, viz. the Devil, the World, and the Flefh; from all which we engage in our Baptifm to turn away, with the most refolute Defiance and Renunciation. For the better understanding whereof, I fhall begin with the Firft Enemy that is to be renounced, and that is the Devil: Of which I fhall difcourfe at this time, from these words of St. James, Refift the Devil and he will fly from you. Where we have a Precept, which is, to Refift the Devil; and an Encouragement to it, because in fo doing, he will fly from us. The Precept is, to refift or renounce the Devil, the grand Enemy of God and our Salvation, whom we folemnly promife and engage in our Baptifm to forfake. By the Devil here, we are to understand that ArchTraitor or Rebel, who affecting to be like the Moft High, fell from his Duty and Allegiance to his Maker; and not only fo, but drew the accurfed Crew of Apoftate Angels into the fame Confpiracy. By this Revolt, they fell from their Integrity; and fo leaving that firft Station of Light and Glory in which they were created, are referv'd in Chains of Darkness to the Judgment of the last Day. This ArchRebel is in Scripture mention'd under fundry Names and Titles: fometimes he is call'd,Beelzebub, the Prince of the Devils; fometimes Satan, for his Enmity both to God and Man; fometimes a roaring Lion, for his Rage and Cruelty; fometimes the Old Serpent, for his Craft and Subtilty; at other times he is call'da Dragon, for his Fierceness and Contention; and most frequently abon, the F 4 Devil, Part I. Devil, for his being a Calumniator or Accufer of the Brethren, Now this Arch-Traitor, partly out of Enmity to God, and partly out of Envy to Man's Salvation, uses all his Art and Policy to deceive Mankind; and being fallen himself, feeks to draw them into the fame Condemnation. Το which end, he with his Legion of Infernal Spirits is daily folliciting them to Evil, and drawing them into a contempt of God and his Laws. He beguil'd our first Parents even in Paradife, and robb'd them both of their Innocence and Happinefs together: and being encourag'd with the Success of that Attempt, hath not fail'd to affau't their Pofterity ever fince. Yea, we find that he had Impudence enough to fet upon the Son of God himself, who, we read, was led by the Spirit into the Wilderness, to be tempted of the Devil, Mat. 4.1. And tho our bleffed Saviour fhamefully foiled and baffled him in all his Attempts; yet this reftlefs Adverfary ceases not ftill to moleft and affault his Followers; and like a Lion, greedy of his Prey, is ever going to and fro, feeking whom he may devour, 1 Pet. 5. 8. This is the Devil, or that evil Spirit, which we are here, and in fundry places of Scripture, commanded to refift. But what are we to understand here by resisting or forfaking the Devil? In answer to which, Three things are plainly meant by it. Ift, The withstanding his ufurp'd Power. All which being included in our Text, and engaged in our Baptifm, must be particularly spoken to. ift, To refift the Devil, is to difclaim and withstand his ufurp'd Power and Dominion: For Satan, both before and at the coming of Chrift, had gotten a vifible Kingdom, yea, almoft the univerfal Empire of the World: hence he is ftyl'd the Prince of this World, the Spirit that rules in the Children of Disobedience, John 14. 30. The whole World, as St. John tells us, at that time lay in Wickedness; in the Original it is, in that Wicked One, who had gotten the Sway and Dominion of it. Yea, we find him call'd The God of this World, 2 Cor. 4. 4, He had his Temples and his Altars; yea, yea, and his Votaries too, who worship'd him with the most barbarous and bloody Sacrifices. The things which the Gentiles facrifice, faith the Apostle, they facrifice unto Devils, and not unto God, I Cor. 10. 20. He had many folemn Rites, pompous Plays and Proceffions inftituted and perform'd in honour of him. This was the State of the World, and the exorbitant Power the Devil had over it in the beginning of Christianity. Now when any were converted from Paganifm to the Chriftian Religion, the Primitive Chriftians exprefly requir'd from them a publick and open Renunciation, or Abjuration of the Devil; nor were any admitted into the Kingdom or Church of Chrift, without an utter difowning and abandoning this his ufurp'd Power and Authority. For which reafon, the embracing Chriftianity is in Scripture call'd, A turning from Darkness to Light, and from the Power of Satan unto God, Acts 20. 18. This (as a learned Catechift hath truly obferv'd) is undoubtedly what the Primitive Church understood by renouncing the Devil, viz. The cafting off all that Homage, Service and Obedience, that the Pagan World paid him, by worshiping of him or his wicked Angels; together with the rejecting of all thofe bloody Rites, leud Plays, and pompous Proceffions, that were made and obferv'd in honour of him. This likewife was the Sense of those Interrogatories that were put in Baptifm, Doft thou renounce the Devil? &c. The Anfwer whereunto is, by St. Peter, fyl'd The Anfwer of a good Confcience towards God. Which Interrogatories we find mention'd by Tertullian, and other Fathers; and are continu'd down in the Chriftian Church to this day. And this is the firft way of refifting the Devil, namely, by difclaiming all Subjection to Satan's Kingdom, and becoming the faithful Subjects, Servants and Soldiers of Jesus Chrift. 2dly, To refift the Devil, is to refift all his Temptations. Among the other Titles given to this wicked One in Holy Scripture, he is often ftyl'deer, the Tempter, Mat. 4. 3. 1 Theff. 3. 5. it being his great Bufinefs to tempt and entice Men to Sin; and from his unwearied Diligence herein, he is faid to be still walking about, seeking whom he may devour. Sometimes he tempts Men to Prefumption of God's Mercy, without ufing the Means appointed to the attaining it. At At other times he tempts them to defpair, in the most diligent use of them. Sometimes he allures them into Evil, by the Smiles and Flatteries of the World: At other times he affrights them into it by the Frowns and Adverfities of it. Sometimes again, he entices Men into Vice by the Baits of Pleasure, and inveigles them with the Softness and Blandifhments of fenfual Delights: At other times he difcourages them from Virtue, by the Pains and Hardships that attend it, Thefe and many other ways he hath to draw Men into Sin, and to get them into his Snare. upon our Saviour with many of them ; and tho he was manfully repuls'd by the Captain of our Salvation, yet he is daily trying the Strength and Conftancy of his Followers ever fince. But the various Wiles and Methods of Satan's Temptations, are fo largely and learnedly laid open by Dr. Bray, in his tenth and following Lectures on the Catechifm, that I fhall not need to infift farther upon them; and therefore refer you to them. He fet Now to withstand the Force of thefe Temptations, fo as not to yield or be drawn afide by them, and to repel the Danger and Importunity of them, is the fecond way that we are requir'd and engag'd to refift the Devil. The 3d is, To renounce or forfake the Works of the Devil. But thefe being fo many, and fo pernicious to the Peace of Christ's Kingdom, as well as the Welfare of our Souls, will require a particular Difcourfe of them; which fhall be done in the next. In the mean time, let us fee how we may be beft enabled to withstand the Power, and refift the Force of Satan's Temptations. To which end, St. Paul hath furnish'd Chriftians with Armour fufficient for this Warfare; the Weapons whereof he tells us, are not carnal, for we fight not with Flesh and Blood, but against Principalities and Powers, against the Rulers of the Darkness of this World, and against Spiritual Wickedneffes in high Places. So that the Armour futed to this Combat must be fpiritual; And thefe, he tells us, will be mighty thro' God, to the pulling down of Strong-holds, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the Knowledge of God, and bringing into Captivity every Thought to the Obedience of Chrift: 2 Cor. 10. 4, 5. Now the Armour prefcrib'd by the Apostle for this purpofe, is at large fet forth in the 6th Chapter to the Ephefans; where the First thing he wills us to put on, is the Girdle of Truth, ver. 14. Having your Loins girt with Truth; that is, with Knowledge and found Religion, by which, as by the military Belt or Girdle, all Divine Truths are ty'd and fasten'd on the Mind: exprefs'd elsewhere by girding up the Loins of the Mind, which will keep the Soul from running into Licentiousness, as a Girdle refrains and keeps in the Body. (2.) The next piece of Armour he directs us to put on, is the Breaft-plate of Righteousness; by which is meant, that Integrity of Heart that is to accompany our Knowledge, without which we are not able to ftand in the evil Day: for 'tis this Purity of Heart and Mind that guards us from the Wiles of Satan, as a Breaft-plate does from the Darts of an Enemy. (3.) Another thing we are to take care of, is to have our Feet fhod with the Preparation of the Gofpel of Peace which fignifies our Readiness to do the Will of God, and run the Paths of his Commandments: for the putting on of Shoes, implies Readiness and Activity; and denotes the Alacrity and Chearfulness of our Obedience. (4.) Another principal part of this Armour, is the Shield of Faith, ver. 16. Above all things taking on the Shield of Faith, wherewith we shall be able to quench all the fiery Darts of the Wicked. Now by this is meant a firm and ftedfaft Belief, both of the Promifes made to penitent Sinners, and the Threats denounc'd against all wilful and impenitent Offenders; which may ferve as a Shield to keep off all the fiery Darts of Satan. (5.) The next piece of Armour we are bid to put on, is the Helmet of Salvation, ver. 17. by which is meant the Hope of Salvation. A Helmet ferves to defend the Head, as the other Armour does the Body from the Blows of an Affailant; in like manner this Hope of Salvation fecures the Soul from the most violent Affaults of our ghoftly Enemies. 'Tis fometimes ftyl'd the Anchor of the Soul, both fure and fedfaft, that holds it fteddy in a Storm, and keeps it from fluctuating in the greateft Tempeft. (6.) The next piece of this Armour we are to make use of, is the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, ver. 18. This cuts thro' the greatest Difficulties, and confounds all the Enemies of the Truth. This Weapon our Saviour made ufe of in his Conflict with the Devil ; alledging on all occafions the Word of God, and baffling all his Temptations with, It is written, Mat. 4. For which reafor |